End of Days
by LadyKnightSkye
Summary: Athena contemplates the events that have brought her to the moment of the Earth's preordained destruction. One shot. No romance at all.


**Disclaimer: **Saint Seiya isn't mine peeps.

**End of Days**

I had known since the beginning that one day I would have to look upon this. The sun off in the distance is dimmer than I've ever known it as I sit here on the summit of Star Hill, alone.

No human has walked here for millennia. The human race has long since made its way to other planets and stars. The final frontier, they used to call it I believe. I have not seen a human in so long that I have to wonder if they still look like me, or have they left behind the image in which they were made?

I remember when it dawned on me that I would sooner or later find myself alone. I had returned again after my incarnation in the twentieth century, and it became apparent that the human race was finally making its way out to the stars. During that one tenure alone I watched the Earth disgorge half of her population. The planet was in a marked decline and anyone who could wanted to go out to the colonies on Mars and the moons of Jupiter. My faithful Saints tried to keep searching out others with strong cosmos, but I knew it was only a matter of time before their searches would start ending in vain.

A few incarnations later found me almost alone. The human race had leapfrogged out into farther space, and the Earth was almost empty of her people. I had a few caretakers, members of the village that had not left just yet, but the Cloths mostly lay dormant in their resting places. It was not long before I had to take measures to insure that I would not return as a baby anymore. That battle with Hades was especially dispiriting because he had managed to scrape together more Spectres than I could Saints. At the end of it all, I had only two Saints left.

It was the next incarnation that I finally found myself alone. The Earth was completely empty of the human race. However, it was this incarnation that revealed that I was not as alone as I thought. The first one to visit me was Apollo. He came one day while I was an old woman and sat next to me on this very hill. He was young and beautiful, but I could see that he was not here to cause trouble. "I have a warning for you Athena."

"And what is that?" I asked.

"Just because he did not come this time does not mean that Hades has stopped lusting to own this world and all it entails." he explained. "Will you fight him still? The humans are gone."

"I am tied to this planet. As long as I breathe I must protect it from any that would try to conquer it. I will not let Hades have it." I retorted.

Apollo's mouth turned up in a mocking grin. "Your pride and boredom speak for you."

I turned from him, not wishing to speak on it further. What was damning was that he was right; my pride would not allow me to give in to Hades just because there were no humans to defend. I would not let him win, not then, not ever.

So it went on. The next time I awoke, I found the goddess Aphrodite waiting for me. "I must speak with you Athena."

"Yes?" I murmured as I walked over to unlock my armor.

"We're dying."

I stopped for a moment, and turned to look back at her. "Who are 'we'?"

"All of the gods save you, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades. Without humans to feed our power, we are dying. Even those that are tied to nature are dying. Only the four of you are being spared." she had replied gravely.

I stared at her, but there was little pity in my heart. At one time or another I had been obliged to defend the Earth from most all of the Greek gods, so I had little sympathy for her plight. "And what do you wish of me? I cannot save you."

Aphrodite smiled. "That is not what I want. I just want you to know that soon you will be alone with the other three. I wanted to warn you, and to ask if I may stay with you as I die."

Even though I had never really liked Aphrodite, her words gained entry into my heart. "Yes, I would be grateful for the company."

She smiled, and I thought I knew the real reason why Paris chose her. That smile could have dazzled even the most stalwart of my Saints. The days with Aphrodite were pleasant, but I could see her dying slowly beside me. She grew paler and weaker until it was almost painful for me to watch her careful steps. We lived in Sanctuary and the numerous staircases soon presented an obstacle. Aphrodite could not traverse them very easily once her weakness became more pronounced, so I was obliged to nurse her. I did not mind it so very much since I had already driven Hades back into the underworld. Keeping her comfortable was something to fill my monotonous days.

The night that Aphrodite died there was a great wailing riding on the night wind. I watched Aphrodite's body begin to dissolve as Pan's voice filled the night. "The gods are dead!"

And so it became that I was one of the last gods on Earth.

Incarnation after incarnation followed as I monotonously lived on the empty Earth. I would sit in this very spot and look up at the star filled sky, feeling cosmos flare across the universe. Every so often, I would feel a familiar one as one of my past warriors was born again among the stars. I always smiled and raised my face to the sky when I felt one of my faithful souls calling to me. I would flare my cosmo, and watch as theirs flared as well.

Whenever I would feel one I would remember something that happened when I knew them. When I felt Shiryu's cosmo I remembered when he went blind in his battle against Argol, when I felt Shun and Ikki's I remembered their reunion at my mountain retreat, and when I felt Hyoga's I remembered his fight against Babel. Seiya's cosmos always made me remember him in the final battle against Hades.

My battles with Hades broke the monotony, but they were few. Once the battle was over, each of us retreats to our respective corner and waits for the other to make another move. I cannot count how many times I considered letting him win for my pride does have its bounds. However, I never gave in to my impulse to let him have the planet that I had bound myself to so long ago.

Now, it has finally come to this. I sit here, a child yet again as I watch the sun begin to set on the planet one last time. In the morning, the planet will be nothing more than a dried husk as the sun has finally exhausted most of its fuel. A chain reaction will cause it to expand, and as the power of the sun grows closer it will bake the world. The Earth will die, and so shall I. I am not tied to the land; I am tied to the life on it.

"May I join you?"

I whirl at this voice. Hades stands there, giving me a small, smug smile. "Why?"

He walks up and sits down beside me without my leave. "Because we're going to die, and I'd rather die in the company of my greatest enemy than alone in my palace."

I stared at him for a long time, wondering how it could be that I trusted him. I guess that the knowledge of my eminent destruction made me less suspicious. I had forgotten that his kingdom was connected to the life force of the Earth. Once that life force was destroyed by the heat of the sun, he would perish as well. "Okay." I murmured simply.

We sit together quietly all night long as we wait for the killing light of dawn. I have no notion what goes through Hades' mind, but my own is filled with memories of my many lives. As the first rays peek over the far horizon, I find myself scooting closer to Hades. He glances over and gently scoops me up onto his lap. I clutch his robe and bury my face in his shoulder, grateful that he has no snide comment to offer. His arms hold me tight against his chest, and his face is buried in my small neck.

Our coming deaths made us forget our war since now we are united in one crucial aspect. We hold onto each other, and I cannot speak for him, but I know that I wish I had gone with the other gods. I do not wish to watch the Earth die, and I have the thought that maybe this death is my punishment for leading my own men to their deaths before me. The heat is rising now, and I can feel my own skin begin to burn. The end is here . . .


End file.
